GENEVA, Switzerland (CMC) — The Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families has raised questions on Jamaica’s current bilateral agreements in place, most notably with Canada, the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK), and the treatment of undocumented migrants.

The committee on Thursday concluded its consideration of the combined initial and second periodic report of Jamaica and while it commended the country on training programmes it raised questions on the current bilateral agreements.

Committee Expert and Country Co-Rapporteur, Ermal Frasheri, said Jamaica should be congratulated on the state’s various training programmes for officials, asking questions about specific trainings pertaining to the convention, while another committee member, Persad Kariyawasam, asked about the labour agreements in place between Jamaica and the US, Canada and the UK.

Kariyawasam expressed concern about how the provisions affected Jamaican migrant workers in those countries, the kind of consular diplomatic representation Jamaica had in those countries, what the main challenges faced were, and whether Kingston addressed these challenges.

Jasminka Dzumhur, a fellow committee member, raised questions about migrants approaching Jamaica from Cuba by boat and how were they treated when they did not have documents.

“How did the state return them?  What happened to those who were found undocumented in Jamaica?  Where were they sent?  Who provided legal aid to migrants?”

But the Jamaica delegation, headed by acting Charge d’Affaires of Jamaica’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations and other international organisations in Geneva, Miss Tyesha Turner, said Jamaica had bilateral working arrangements in place with Canada and the US, although the agreement with the US was not a written agreement and was more of an understanding.

She noted that many Jamaicans had travelled to the UK after World War II to work, but there was no current bilateral agreement in place with the UK.

According to the Jamaica delegation, a seasonal agricultural worker’s programme was in place with Canada, which had been created in 1966 and re-signed in 1995.

Each worker was required to sign an employment contract which entitled them to lodgements, meals and payment of wages.  Jamaica has appointed liaison officers in Canada, across four offices, where the largest concentrations of workers were located.

The delegation said Jamaican law considered irregular migrants as being in breach of the detention law, and when they were detained, their rights were enshrined within the Jamaican constitution.

“Irregular migrants are held at local police stations, usually close to their place of entry.  If a person requests to apply for refugee status, they can not be removed from Jamaica until this application is considered, regardless of their nationality or means of entering the country.

“The state does not seek to criminalise those in irregular migration. There is no cross-contamination of migrants with convicted men and women, even if they were housed in correctional facilities.”

Jamaica’s Minister of Labour and Social Security, Pearnel Charles Jr, speaking via a video recording, said migration was an integral part of Jamaica’s national experience, and the country continues to prioritise policies that promoted safe, orderly and regular migration, in alignment with international standards.

“Jamaica is home to a growing number of migrant workers, primarily from the Caribbean, who contribute significantly to sectors such as agriculture, education, healthcare and tourism.”

He said the country’s labour laws provided core protections, including equal pay, non-discrimination and workplace safety, in accordance with international standards. Efforts are underway to streamline the work permit process to make it more efficient and accessible, ensuring that migrant workers were able to work legally and benefit from the protections to which they were entitled.

“Jamaica maintains a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of exploitation, including trafficking in persons.  The National Task Force against Trafficking in Persons continues to spearhead national efforts in prevention, prosecution and victim support.”

He said Jamaica has strengthened monitoring systems to identify and prevent exploitative labour practices and has expanded training for immigration and law enforcement officials, to improve their capacity to identify, investigate and respond to trafficking cases, including those involving migrant workers.

“Despite this progress, challenges remain, including expanding access to social protection for all migrant workers, regardless of their status, and strengthening data collection to improve policy responses to migration trends.

“Jamaica remains fully committed to enhancing bilateral and regional cooperation to improve labour migration frameworks, continuing efforts to prevent exploitation and trafficking in persons, and ensuring timely and effective engagement with international mechanisms, including the committee,” he said.